The photovoltaic industry fared well in 2010 compared to other industries. However, looking forward it is predictable that the solar industry may be faced with business cycles similar to those in the semiconductor industry. In order to be prepared for this “boom and bust” it is important to engage in continuous pre-competitive discussions about critical issues and challenges in the manufacturing process. To quote Gerhard Rauter, COO of Q-Cells “[…] the battle will be won on the manufacturing floor.”

The search for a common denominator like “Moore’s Law” in the semiconductor industry seems to come to an end. It is not only the costs per Wp but it will become the costs per kWh where all the important production parameters as cost per piece, efficency and system costs are included. The reduction of the cost per piece at increased efficiencies will be the main driver for the speed and importance of any future technology developments.

For the last12 months SEMI PV Group has been facilitating the early roadmapping steps initiated by the European special interest group for crystalline cell manufacturing technology (CTM*). One of the group’s main goals is to establish an International Technology Roadmap for PV (ITRPV, www.itrpv.net) - comparable to what was done in the semiconductor industry with the well-known ITRS. The first official publication was presented in March 2010 during PV Group’s annual PV Fab Managers Forum (www.pvgroup.org/pvvfmf) and the leading European solar cell manufacturers became SEMI PV Group members and the CTM efforts folded in.

In the meantime various PV players from research and academia, equipment and material suppliers, wafer manufacturers, cell and module manufacturers have weighed in on the roadmap process, and it is time for an update. During this year’s Photovoltaic Fab Managers Forum (20-22 March, Berlin, Germany, www.pvgroup.org/pvfmf), the 2011 roadmap edition will be presented and discussed in detail during sessions about advance crystalline cell technology and various manufacturing standards presentations..

Ralf Lüdemann, SolarWorld Innovation’s Managing Director and Chair of the CTM group, states “that the global infrastructure of an association like SEMI PV Group is at outmost importance to reach the goals we have in mind with this Special Interest Group. We realized the complexity of such a roadmap approach but at the same time are very satisfied with the latest updates. To further increase the value and consistency of the ITRPV we are constantly considering how to involve other industry stakeholders to provide input. So it is also foreseen to include the input of non-European PV players in the publication. SEMI’s experience in coordinating technology developments on a global basis (e.g. SEMI Standards) will certainly be of great help to achieve this goal.”

As many in the media have stated, it is not easy to establish a truly accepted and global roadmap. One basic but necessary condition is to have the leading industry experts in the working groups. One of the chairs of the ITRPV roadmap group (Markus Fischer, Director R&D Processes at Q-Cells Technology department) has been involved in the roadmapping process from the very beginning. “We started the discussions with just 9 different cell manufacturing companies one and a half year ago. In the last 12 months we had about 35 meetings, talks and teleconferences with experts from all along the supply chain. This years 2011 edition of the International Technology Roadmap is written based on the input from approximately 40 companies and institutes. This is a huge progress and we are convinced that more interested and convinced players from the PV industry will join our group and help to support the further growth of the sector for photovoltaics energy.”

Derived from the roadmapping activities there is a huge list of areas identified for potential standardization – for the industry from the industry! One of the upcoming tasks for SEMI PV Group will be to bring together the roadmap experts with the professionals in the different standard committees and working groups.

In addition to being presented at the next Fab Managers Forum in Berlin the roadmap will be featured at Intersolar Europe (8-10 June, Munich, Germany, www.pvgroup.org/intersolareu) as well as SEMICON West & Intersolar North America (12-14 July, San Francisco, USA, www.semiconwest.org) in various formats. SEMI PV Group is partnering with Intersolar as the exclusive partner to focus on PV manufacturing technology. This range of activities includes workshops and information sessions, executive conferences, networking events, and full exhibition areas.

A last word to the PV industry leaders – we invite you to join us. Let your voice be heard. Whether you join one of our standard committees, task forces or special interest groups, your input for roadmapping, standards, market data and other valuable advice is needed. The only way to reach sustainable success for the global industry is to be open for pre-competitive collaboration.

See you soon,
Stephan Raithel
Director Photovoltaics Europe

*CTM members are currently Bosch Solar, Sovello, Sunways, SolarWorld, Solland, Systaic, Q-Cells, Bluechip Energy

SEMI PV Group, The Grid – January 2011